Why stars were wearing red pins at the 2024 Oscars
Stars such as Billie Eilish and Mark Ruffalo wore red pins at the 2024 Oscars.
The pins were worn in support of Artists4Ceasefire, which is calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef also spoke out against the conflict on the Oscars' red carpet.
Stars including Billie Eilish and Mark Ruffalo wore red pins to the 2024 Oscars to show their support for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The pin features the logo of Artists4Ceasefire — a hand with a black heart in the middle — which is calling on the US government to facilitate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Some stars also wore the pin at this year's Grammys, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Directors Guild of America Awards.
The latest flare-up of the decadeslong regional conflict began on October 7, when members of Hams, the militant group that governs Gaza, stormed into Southern Israel and conducted a series of terror attacks in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage, Israeli authorities reported. Gaza's health ministry has reported that about 30,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its bombing campaign in retaliation for the attacks.
Artist4Ceasefire was started in October, and stars including Bradley Cooper, Dua Lipa, Florence Pugh, and Kirsten Dunst signed a letter requesting Congress and world leaders to "facilitate a ceasefire without delay — an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages."
Ruffalo, Mahershala Ali, Ava DuVernay, Eugene Lee Yang, Caroline Polachek, and Ramy Youssef also signed the letter and wore the pin to this year's Oscars ceremony.
Eilish, her brother Finneas, and the directors Misan Harriman and Kaouther Ben Hania also wore the red pin to the event. However, they are not listed on the Artists4Ceasefire website.
Milo Machado-Graner and Swann Arlaud, who starred in "Anatomy of a Fall," also wore pins to the Oscars, but theirs featured the Palestinian flag.
Ruffalo, Youssef, and Jonathan Glazer spoke out against the Israel-Hamas war at the Oscars
The Israel-Hamas war became a focus of the evening before Hollywood's biggest event — which cost $56.9 million to put on — started. ABC is estimated to make $120 million in ad revenue for hosting the Oscars, according to WalletHub's 2024 report.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Oscars ceremony was delayed by six minutes because A-list stars struggled to get through a cease-fire protest near the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
About 350 protesters blocked the road at the Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue intersection, leaving many Oscar attendees' cars and limousines unable to reach the Dolby Theatre, the outlet reported.
Variety reported that some attendees got out of their vehicles and walked from Sunset Boulevard to the Dolby Theatre, and the Academy's staff sent golf carts to transport others.
In a video posted on social media, Ruffalo, one of the stars who arrived late to the ceremony, voiced support for the protest when he spoke to reporters on the red carpet.
"The Palestinian protest shut down the Oscars tonight! Humanity wins!" he said.
Meanwhile, his "Poor Things" costar Youssef told Variety on the red carpet that the Artists4Ceasefire group was calling for "peace and justice, lasting justice, for the people of Palestine."
"I think it's a universal message of just, 'Let's stop killing kids,'" he said.
Ramy Youssef wears an Artists for Ceasefire pin to the #Oscars: “We’re calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza. We’re calling for peace and lasting justice for the people of Palestine.” | Variety On the Carpet presented by @DIRECTV https://t.co/qxqSOgif3j pic.twitter.com/yyM7HzpVdZ
— Variety (@Variety) March 10, 2024
Later in the night, "The Zone of Interest," a film about the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp living a bucolic life next door, won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
Jonathan Glazer, the film's director, used his acceptance speech to condemn the violent conflict.
The heated discussion surrounding director Jonathan Glazer’s speech at the Oscars last night is mostly missing the point. His main message was simple and yet vital: empathy is not a zero-sum game.pic.twitter.com/9CzditpSOB
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) March 11, 2024
Correction: March 11, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the actor Ramy Youssef's name.
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